During this period, Borges also began writing books of stories with his best friend, Adolfo Bioy Casares, under the pseudonym H. Bustos Domecq. He collaborated with Bioy and Bioy’s wife, the fiction writer Silvina Ocampo, editing anthologies of fantastic literature (1940), Argentine poetry (1941), and detective stories (1943). Besides Kafka, Borges translated Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Henri Michaux’s A Barbarian in Asia (which was translated into German by Walter Benjamin), Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener, and William Faulkner’s The Wild Palms (a translation that was enormously influential on young Latin American novelists, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez), as well as many shorter texts. He put together a slim retrospective collection of his poetry, Poemas (1922-1943), with only six new poems from the last fourteen years. Despite the hundreds of essays he wrote during this period, he published no books of non-fictions.
Notes on Germany and the War
Argentina, ruled by the army and with a large Italian population, generally supported the Spanish, Italian, and German Fascists at all levels of society. The exceptions, among the intellectuals, were, on the one hand, the Marxists, and on the other, the Anglophiles and Francophiles centered around Sur and a few other small literary magazines. Borges was not only unwaveringly anti-Fascist; he was ardently Semitophile in a period when anti-Semitism was fashionable, and a Germanophile dedicated to salvaging German culture from the Nazis and their Argentine supporters. Borges’ courageous wartime articles remain little known, even in Spanish.
A Pedagogy of Hatred
“Una pedagogia del odio,” Sur no. 32, May 1937. First reprinted in Paginas, 1982. Not in the Complete Works.
A Disturbing Exposition
“Una exposición afligente,” Sur no. 49, Oct. 1938. Never reprinted. Not in the Complete Works .
An Essay on Neutrality
“Ensayo de imparcialidad,” Sur no. 61, Oct. 1939. First reprinted in Paginas, 1982. Not in the Complete Works.
Definition of a Germanophile
Definicion de germanófilo;’ El Hagar, 13 Dec. 1940. First reprinted in Textos cautivos, 1986.
After an absence of a year and a half, Borges returned to El Hogar to contribute this note, which, remarkably, was published on the first page of the magazine.
1941
“1941,” Sur no. 87, Dec. 1941. Never reprinted. Not in the Complete Works.
p. 206: Maurice Leblanc: French writer (1864-1941), creator of the Arsene Lupin mystery series.
p. 206: [E.] Phillips Oppenheim: British writer (1866-1946) and author of immensely popular espionage novels in the 1910s and 1920s.
p. 206: Baldur von Schirach: German head of the Hitler Youth (1907-1974), who was later tried and convicted at Nuremberg.
Two Books
“Dos libros.” Originally published under the title “Dos libros de este tiempo” [Two Books of this Era ], La Nación, 10 Dec. 1941. Included in Otras inqusiciones.
p. 208: Gauleiter: A Nazi community organizer.
p. 209: Hitler . . . is a pleonasm of Carlyle: In the guarded diary Robert Musil kept in Vienna in 1938, his code word for Hitler was “Carlyle.”
A Comment on August 23, 1944
“Anotación al 23 agosto 1944,’’ Sur no. 120, Oct. 1944. Included in Otras inqusiciones.
p. 210: [Jose] San Martin: Argentina’s revered military leader (1778-1850), hero of the Wars of Independence and liberator of Chile and Peru.
A Note on the Peace
“Nota sobre Ia paz,” Sur no. 129, July 1945. Never reprinted. Not in the Complete Works.
The Total Library
“La biblioteca total,” Sur no. 59, Aug. 1939. First reprinted in Ficcionario, 1985. Not in the Complete Works.
This essay, inspired by his dreary job at the municipal library, soon turned into the famous story “The Library of Babel” (1941).
p. 214: Gustav Theodor Fechner: German philosopher and physicist (1801-1887), in ventor of psychophysics and investigator of the exact relationships among psy chology, physiology, and aesthetics.
p. 214: Kurd Lasswitz: German science fiction writer (1848-1910), best known for his Wellsian 1897 novel, To Two Planets.
Time and J. W. Dunne
“El tiempo y J. W. Dunne,” Sur no. 72, Sept. 1940. Included in Otras inqusiciones.
p. 217: number 63 of Sur: The essay Borges refers to is “The Avatars of the Tortoise,” another version of “The Perpetual Race of Achilles and the Tortoise,” which is included here.
p. 217: [Johann Friedrich] Herbart: German philosopher and educator (1776-1841).
A Fragment on Joyce
“Fragmento sobre Joyce,” Sur no. 77, Feb. 1941. First reprinted in Paginas, 1982. Not in the Complete Works.
p. 220: Among the works I have not written: A Borgesian joke: the story, “Funes the Memorious,” had indeed been written, but would not be published until the following year.
p. 220: compadrito: Young tough of the slums.
p. 221: M. Victor Berard: A French translator of the Odyssey, who, following the archeologist Heinrich Schliemann, insisted on the factual basis of Homer’s epics.
The Creation and P. H. Gosse
“La creación y P. H. Gosse,” Sur no. 81, June 1941. Included in Otras inqusiciones.
p. 222: Legenda Aurea: The Golden Legend, the collection of ecclesiastical lore by Jacobus de Voragine (1230-1298); after the Bible, the most popular book of the late Middle Ages.
p. 224: Chateaubriand: The translation is by Charles I. White (1856).
Circular Time
“EI tiempo circular.” First published under the title “Tres formas del eterno regreso” [Three Forms of Eternal Return] , La Nación, 14 Dec. 1941. Included in later editions of Eternidad, from 1953 on.
p. 227 Chrysippus: Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 280-207 B.C.).
p. 227: Condorcet’s decimal history: The mathemetician Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet (1743-1794), wrote a Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind—published after his death in prison—dividing human history into nine stages that ended with the French Revolution, which had imprisoned him. In the tenth stage, humanity would achieve perfection.
p. 227: Gerald Heard: English writer (1889-1971) and author of the encompassing Pain, Sex, and Time. In the 1930s, he moved with his friend Aldous Huxley to California in search of spiritual enlightenment.
John Wilkins’ Analytical Language
“EI idioma analitico de John Wilkins,” La Nación, 8 Feb. 1942. Included in Otras inqusiciones.
On Literary Description
“Sobre Ia descripción literaria,” Sur no. 97, Oct. 1942. First reprinted in Paginas, 1982. Not in the Complete Works.
p. 233: [Calixto] Oyuela: Classical, Catholic, and conservative Argentine poet and essayist (1857-1935).
p. 234: [Gabriel] Miró: Impressionistic Spanish fiction writer (1879-1930).
On William Beckford’s Vathek
“Sobre el Vathek de William Beckford,” La Nación, 4 Apr. 1943. Included in Otras inqusiciones.
Coleridge’s Flower
“La flor de Coleridge;’ La Nación, 23 Sept. 1945. Included in Otras inqusiciones. Selected for the New Personal Anthology, 1968.
p. 242: Wells . . . not acquainted with Coleridge’s text: This is either an error or a joke: Coleridge’s lines are the epigraph to The Time Machine.
Prologues
Adolfo Bioy Casares, The Invention of Morel
La invención de Morel (Losada, 1940). First reprinted in Prólogos, 1975.
p. 244: Le Voyageur sur Ia terre [The Wanderer on the Earth]: 1930 novel by Julien Green.
p. 245: Las fuerzas extrañas [The Strange Forces] : 1906 short story collection by Leopolda Lugones.
p. 245: Santiago Dabove: Argentine fiction writer (1889-1949) whom Borges and Bioy included in their anthology of fantastic fiction.
p. 245: Moreau: Wells’ 1896 novel, The Island of
Dr. Moreau.
Herman Melville, Bartleby the Scrivener
Bartleby (Emece, 1944). First reprinted in Prólogos, 1975.
Borges was the translator of the Melville story.
Henry James, The Abasement of the Northmores
La humiliación de los Northmore, Emece, 1945. First reprinted in Prólogos, 1975.
Book Reviews
Edward Kasner & James Newman, Mathematics and the Imagination
Sur no. 73, Oct. 1940. Included in later editions of Discusión, from 1957 on.
Edward Shanks, Rudyard Kipling: A Study in Literature and Political Ideas
Sur no. 78, Mar. 1941. Never reprinted. Not in the Complete Works.
Arthur Waley, Monkey
Published under the title “Sabre una alegoria china” [On a Chinese Allegory], La Nación, 25 Nov. 1942. Never reprinted. Not in the Complete Works.
Leslie Weatherhead, After Death
Sur no. 105, July 1943. Included in later editions of Discusión, from 1957 on.
Film Reviews and Criticism
Two Films (Sabotage; Los muchachos de antes)
“Dos films,” Sur no. 31, Apr. 1937. First reprinted in Cine, 1980. Not in the Complete Works.
An Overwhelming Film (Citizen Kane)
“Un film abrumador,” Sur no. 83, Aug. 1941. First reprinted in Cine, 1980. Not in the Complete Works.
It is now forgotten that Citizen Kane opened to generally dismissive reviews; Borges, despite his reservations, must be seen as one of its first champions. He was also the first, by decades, to note a connection with the 1933 The Power and the Glory (screenplay by Preston Sturges), a film now generally considered to be the ur-Kane. (No relation, by the way, to the Graham Greene novel, which was written years later.)
p. 259: Koheleth: The Hebrew name for the Book of Ecclesiastes.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Transformed
“El doctor Jekyll y Edward Hyde, transformados,” Sur no. 87, Dec. 1941. Included in later editions of Discusión, from 1957 on.
Two Films (Now Voyager; Nightmare)
“Dos films,” Sur no. 103, Apr. 1943. First reprinted in Cine, 1980. Not in the Complete Works.
On Dubbing
“Sabre el doblaje,” Sur no. 128, June 1945. Included in later editions of Discusión, from 1957 on.
V. Nine Dantesque Essays 1945-1951
Although some sections form part of the “Estudio preliminar” [Preliminary Study] to a 1949 edition of Dante, these essays were first collected in the book Nueve ensayos dantescos, 1982. Their order here follows that of the book, which is presented in its en tirety. The Dante citations are based on the Charles Singleton translation.
Prologue
“Prologo,” first published m Nueve ensayos dantescos. The date of composition is unknown.
p.268: [Henry Francis] Cary: English translator of Dante (1772-1844),whose edition was the first publication of the Italian text in England, and the one that the English Romantics read.
The Noble Castle of the Fourth Canto
“El noble castillo del canto cuarto,” La Nación, 22 Apr. 1951.
The False Problem of Ugolino
“El falso problema de Ugolino.” Published under the title “El seudo problema de Ugolino” [The Pseudo-problem of Ugolino] in La Nación, 30 May 1948.
p. 278: Malvezzi’s pen: Virgilio Malvezzi (1595-1654), a Bolognese nobleman who lived at the Spanish court and whose sententious style was widely imitated.
The Last Voyage of Ulysses
“El ultimo viaje de Ulises,” La Nación, 22 Aug. 1948.
The Pitying Torturer
“El verdugo piadoso,” Sur no. 163, May 1948.
p. 286: [Pierre Simon] Marquis de Laplace: French astronomer and mathematician (1749-1827), who proved Newton’s theory of gravitation and expounded a nebular origin of the universe.
Dante and the Anglo-Saxon Visionaries
“Dante y los visionarios anglosajones,” Ars no. 78, 1957.
The citations from Bede are taken from the J. A. Giles 1847 adaptation of the 1723 John Stevens translation.
Purgatorio I, 13
“Purgatorio I, 13,” first published in Nueve ensayos dantescos.
The Simurgh and the Eagle
“EI Simurgh y el aguila,” La Nación, 14 Mar. 1948.
p. 294: Visio Tundali: Medieval Latin poem of the visions of heaven and hell seen by the legendary Irish knight, Tundalus.
The Meeting in a Dream
“EI encuentro en un suefio,” La Nación, 3 Oct. 1948. Included in the first edition of Otras inqusiciones, but omitted from later ones.
Beatrice’s Last Smile
“La ultima sonrisa de Beatriz,” first published in Nueve ensayos dantescos.
VI. 1946-1955
In October 1945, in a complicated piece of political theater, Colonel Juan Domingo Peron—the power behind the scenes in Argentina in the 1940s—fell into disgrace, was exiled, and returned triumphantly eight days later. Borges made a public statement that began: “The situation in Argentina is very serious, so serious that a great number of Argentines are becoming Nazis without being aware of it.” A few months after Peron’s official election as president in early 1946, he “promoted” Borges from his job as third assistant at the library to Inspector of Poultry and Rabbits in the Cordoba municipal market. Borges, needless to say, declined.
Borges reluctantly became a lecturer. (Previously, he had been so shy that on the few occasions when he spoke in public, a friend was asked to read the speech while Borges sat silently behind him.) Often accompanied by his mother, Borges traveled to provincial towns and universities throughout Argentina and Uruguay. He was increasingly recognized as Argentina’s greatest writer and a symbol of resistance to Peron. In 1948, Peron escalated his campaign against Borges by imprisoning his sister and placing his mother under house arrest.
In 1946, Borges took over the editorship of an academic magazine, Los Anales de Buenos Aires, and was the first publisher of two major fiction writers, Felisberto Hernandez and Julio Cortazar. In 1949, he published El Aleph [The Aleph]—with Ficciones, his greatest fiction work. In 1952, he collected some of the essays from the 1930s and 1940s in Otras inqusiciones [Other Inquisitions]. That book, he later said, had two tendencies: “The first [was] to evaluate religious or philosophical ideas on the basis of their aesthetic worth. . . . The other [was] to presuppose (and to verify) that the number of fables or metaphors of which men’s imaginations is capable is limited, but that these few inventions can be all things for all men.”
Borges continued his collaboration on anthologies, stories, and some unproduced film scripts with Bioy Casares. New editions of his old books began to appear, as well as critical articles on his work. Thanks to Roger Callais, who had spent the war years in Argentina, Ficciones was translated into French in 1951.
Peron was overthrown by another faction of the military in 1955. Borges was made the Director of the National Library, a lifelong dream. With that appointment, however, came the news that his blindness had progressed to the point where the doctors forbade him to read or write.
Our Poor Individualism
“Nuestro pobre individualismo,” Sur no. 141, July 1946. Included in Otras inqusiciones.
p. 310: the Lamed Wufniks: In The Book of Imaginary Beings, Borges writes: “There are on earth, and always were, thirty-six righteous men whose mission is to justify the world before God. They are the Lamed Wufniks. They do not know each other and are very poor. If a man comes to the knowledge that he is a Lamed Wufnik, he immediately dies and somebody else, perhaps in another part of the world, takes his place. Lamed Wufniks are, without knowing it, the secret pillars of the universe. Were it not for them, God would annihilate the whole of mankind. Unawares, they are our saviors.” (trans. Norman Thomas di Giovanni)
The Paradox of Apollinaire
“La paradoja de Apollinaire,” Los Anales de Buenos Aires no. 8, Aug. 19
46. First reprinted in Ficcionario, 1985. Not in the Complete Works.
p. 312: [Fritz von] Unruh: German expressionist poet and playwright, and anti militarist (1885-1970).
p. 312: [Henri] Barbusse: French antiwar novelist (1873-1935), author of the World War I novel Under Fire.
p. 312: [Wilhelm] Klemm: German expressionist poet (1881-1968) who also wrote under the name Felix Brazil, and published little after 1922.
p. 312: Guillermo de Torre: Spanish critic and poet (1900-1971) who was married to Borges’ sister, Norah.
On Oscar Wilde
“Sobre Oscar Wilde,” Los Anales de Buenos Aires no. 11, Dec. 1946. Included in Otras inquisiciones. Selected for the New Personal Anthology, 1968.
p. 314: Hugh Vereker: The protagonist of Henry James’ story “The Figure in the Car pet.”
p. 314: Les Palais nomades [The Wandering Palaces]: 1887 book of poetry by Gustave Kahn (1859-1936), a theorist of the new vers libre.
p. 314: Los crepusculos del jardin [Twilights in the Garden]: 1905 book of poetry by Leopolda Lugones.
p. 315: [ Jean] Moréas: French symbolist poet (1856-1910).
A New Refutation of Time
“Nueva refutación del tiempo.” First published in its entirety as a pamphlet by “Oportet y Haereses” (a nonexistent publisher) in 1947. The first part appeared in Sur no. 115, May 1944, under the title ”Una de las posibles metafisicas” [One of the Possible Metaphysics]. The whole essay was included in the first edition of Otras inqusiciones; dropped from later editions; selected for the Personal Anthology, 1961; and reinstated as part of Otras inqusiciones for the Complete Works.